Mattress overlays and toppers play an important role in maintaining the skin health of a person who has to stay in bed for long hours. They are gentle support surfaces for a mattress designed to prevent constant strain on the user’s body. Overlays and toppers provide support and minimize pressure points thus protecting the body from friction and shear and therefore, pressure ulcers. An overlay and topper is spread on the mattress to increase patient comfort and lower pressure on bony prominences. It is generally filled with substances such as air, water, gel or foam. The therapeutic cover distributes pressure uniformly thus not exposing the body to painful pressure points. Browse our extensive range today!

Choosing the Best Hospital Bed Overlays

Choosing the best hospital bed overlays will depend on your doctor’s recommendation of the best configuration suitable for your needs. They provide the right therapy in two different ways – dynamic and static.

Dynamic option offers constant change in pressure across the pad surface. Patients at high risk for pressure ulcers can consider alternating pressure pads which change pressure points thereby reducing risk. Air cells on the pad inflate and deflate alternately to provide a shift in pressure on the body keeping blood circulation flowing and air flow keeping the body dry and cool. In combination with low-air-loss systems, alternating pressure mattress overlays and toppers provide a dry, moisture-free sleeping environment.

Convoluted and foam overlays are good examples too of static pads which distribute weight evenly. A foam overlay offers maximum pressure reduction because of the multiple layers. The “egg-crate” texture of foam mattress provides special cushioning and comfort thereby reducing friction.

Other good products with static option in mattress overlays and toppers are gel hospital bed overlays and water-filled overlays. Water/gel overlay for hospital bed offers cooler and comfortable alternative for patients with proper balancing of the body in the mattress center because of the internal baffles in these products. A patient with incontinence issues will find these overlays suitable too because they are made with medical-grade, antimicrobial vinyl.

A gel overlay mattress pad with a foam core is a great product to have to prevent friction and shear and for uniform pressure distribution.

Memory foam overlays provide excellent therapeutic support surface because of their temperature-sensitive memory foam which responds to body heat for additional support and comfort.

Mattress Toppers Benefits

Using a mattress topper has several benefits such as:

Lightweight: Hospital bed overlays are lightweight in construction and can easily be rotated or flipped around.

Mobile: Mattress overlays and toppers can be taken on your travel and used elsewhere, too, because of their lightweight design and easy to handle size.

Economical: Buying a mattress overlay and topper that will suit the patient’s needs proves cheaper than buying a full size mattress. You can buy an overlay with the same medical properties as a mattress and at a much cheaper price.

Multiple Size Options: Mattress toppers and overlays are available in multiple sizes so the user can pick the exact size and thickness.

Easy To Handle: Maintenance of the overlay mattress pad is easy because it is light in weight and not cumbersome to clean or spread on bed. One person can easily handle it, unlike a full size mattress. Some can even be washed in a machine.

Types of Mattress Toppers

At Health Products For You, there are different types of mattress overlays and toppers available. These include: